


a-riamh an dèidh

by Starsfury



Category: Dark Angel (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Animal Instincts, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, F/M, Mates, a whole lotta X5s
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-14
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2019-09-18 00:17:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 18,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16984512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starsfury/pseuds/Starsfury
Summary: So much was never understood, never explained.  If it wasn't to do with being a soldier or serving Manticore, that means it doesn't matter... right?Max and Alec soon learn that so much which they thought was normal is the farthest from it





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> After S1E21 - And Jesus Brought A Casserole.
> 
> Canon up to that point, and the jumps gleefully into AU

Gillette, Wyoming   
June 3, 2020

                Darkness surrounded her, shrouding the room.  Her senses told her it was cold, solid and so very heartless.  Minute motions of her hands revealed she was bound to the gurney she was laying on.  Her heart-rate tripped when she realized she couldn’t move her legs, hips, or shoulders.  Had to be Manticore.  Only they could restrain in such a sterile manner.

                A rattle from her left made her strain to see who was coming.  Nothing was visible, but Max knew she wasn’t alone anymore.  Something was in here with her.  Abruptly the beat of her heart dropped and she released an agonized whimper.  Trying to move made the staples still in her chest twist.

                Inhaling sharply, she wet her lips to speak.  She froze as a scent wafted not just along her nose, but also along her tongue; almost a tangible taste of something she knew.  It was twisting around her, filling her, and surrounding her in a soothing sensation.

                Someone was with her, someone she almost knew.  It was like her nerves had become attuned to the other person in the room.  In the pit of her stomach, she knew them and they were hers.  And she was theirs.

                The urge to reach out, to touch this other person caused her to flinch.  She was unable to move, and it was like a constant itch.  Raspy and unused, her voice was a whisper, “Please…”

                A hand slid around her wrist causing her nerves to sing, making her feel like a missing piece had just clicked into place.  A distant memory of emerald eyes arced across her mind, the bone deep knowledge that they had met.

                The gentle touch caressed up and down her forearm, tracing the tendon and leaving trails of fire behind.  Tenderly, a finger was traced across her cheekbone; a sharp inhale and then a deep rumble, “It’s you.” 

                A clang down the hall arrested their attention, and then a pair of lips ghosted across hers.  “Soon.”  A final clasp of her fingers was the only warning of the other person leaving.  She felt their absence sharply, as if someone had torn her heart out.

                Max had to restrain the urge to call after them, something warning her that no one should know about her visitor.  It was a gut imperative, and one she couldn’t avoid following.  When the door of the room swung open, she was glad of her control as she stared at Elizabeth Renfro.

*-*-*-*

Seattle, Washington   
August 30, 2020

                Logan angrily went through the notes and paperwork on his desk.  He was trying to find some sense in the research, but all he could focus on was that it had been 100 days since he had last held her.  He had so much information and absolutely no answers.  It had been so long with no word of what had happened.

                He heard the footsteps preceding Asha’s arrival at his workstation.  She placed a cup of tea near his mouse and ran a hand over his shoulders.  She had become a pillar of strength in the almost 3 months of working on this case.  He never would have guessed they would have become this close when they met all those years ago.

                “Glaring at the screens won’t make it change, Logan.”  She settled her hip against the desk, her arms crossed over her chest.  She took in the dark circles under his eyes, and the tenseness of his shoulders told her he had not slept the night before.

                “It’s something… Better than waiting here for nothing.”  He steepled his fingers together and leaned his chin on his thumbs.  He cast his gaze at the blond.  “I just… I need to know what actually happened.”  He sighed and straightened up.  “Distract me, what’s the next S1W mission?”

                Recognizing the pain in his eyes, and the need in them, she sighed.  He still would not tell her what happened in May.  They had barely spoken and then he called her, absolutely inconsolable.  From the images he hid on the computer, and the gazing out the window, she would guess it was a girl.  Mentally shaking herself, she grinned at him.

                “We don’t actually have one, but I hear EO needs help with this little thing called Manticore.  And as it so happens, I love bringing down shadowy organizations.”  She raised an eyebrow, waiting for his response.  If he took the bait, she would finally get some answers.

                His head swung up to regard her, stunned as he saw to serious gleam in her eyes.  “Well there is an excursion, in two parts, which Eyes Only needs bodies for.”

                “Sounds good, what are we hitting?”

                Logan grabbed a file from his left, and rolled over to the table behind him.  She leaned over and he started walking her through his theory of funding.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it took a little longer on the hard drive than planned, but I'm back with more

*-*-*-*

Gillette, Wyoming  
September 2, 2020

 

                The lights came up in her cell unexpectedly, making her writhe in pain.  She hadn’t seen light in almost three months.  There was no reason for it in Psy-Ops.  No sooner had they removed the bandages and binds, she was sent into the pits of Manticore.  Abruptly she realized she could move again.  Blinking shakily, she sat up.

                The light was bright and blinding, making it seem like a thousand tiny needles were being forced into her eyes.  She tried to push herself into standing, and felt gravity pulling her forward inexorably toward the ground. 

                Before she hit the cement floor, arms caught her gently cradling her against a warm chest.  Comfort like she had never known surged through her skin, and the scent from before ghosted across her neck sealing her in the most alluring sensation.

                Max tried to see who it belonged to, needing to put a face to the shadowed memories and enticing scent.  Her eyes wouldn’t work, all she saw was a blur with arcing pain across her orbs.  “Easy now, _leannan_.”  She felt the warmth along her barcode as the person behind her whispered into her ear.

                “The eyes are always the last to come back when Psy-Ops is done with you.  It’s their own special torture for us.”  A huff of twisted amusement on her spine made her shiver in delight.  “The ordinaries can’t stand our abilities, so they like to blind us.”

                She nodded her understanding, and brought her hands up to the arms which held her so close.  Max could feel the restrained strength, and recognized something in the shape of forearms.  Her fingers traced the defined lines of his wrists.

                “Who are you to me?  And why did you kiss me?”  She stroked down the strong fingers, and gasped when their hands intertwined.  It felt like something she had done a million times.

                A breath of laughter, and she felt his chest come into full contact with her back.  “Wasn’t sure if you would remember.”  One arm left her ribcage, and gently scooped up under her knees.  She was then placed back on the cot.  A thin blanket was brought up, but it was a poor substitute for the warmth of before.

                A gentle hand stroked her hair away from her forehead.  “I’m not even entirely sure I know what’s going on.  I just can’t walk away from you.”  She smiled gently, hearing the thoughts from her own mind out loud.  A curl was tucked behind her ear, “We’ll talk soon, I promise.  For now, please sleep.” 

                Lips were placed on hers and under the gentle motion, she felt a rising sensation in her chest.  She traced his mouth with the tip of her tongue, until he tilted to the side and seized control of the kiss.  Inhaling through her nose, she caressed his tongue with hers driven to know his taste. 

                A new scent rose in the room, intoxicating both.  Starbursts exploded behind her eyes as he pulled away, gasping for breath.  One last touch, and he was gone.  As he faded into the shadows, she was left with the impression of broad shoulders.

*-*-*-*

Portland, Oregon  
September 13, 2020

 

                Asha sighed as she looked at the man sitting to her right.  He had been moody, disagreeable, and downright a pain in her ass.  And yet… she was still driving him to god knows where, to deal with god knows what.  She’d say that he was lucky he was cute… except with “that” baggage…

                Logan grunted, and grabbed the map from the backseat.  “I don’t get it, the informant said they would meet us here.  It’s not like we have all day to get this dealt with.”

                Asha didn’t reply, merely clucked her tongue as she took a sip from her thermos.  Not that she’d tell him, but sometimes it was really cute when he got obsessive.  She winced visibly at the thought that crawled through her skull. 

                In the middle of nowhere, with a surly friend, and she’s thinking about how his ass looks in jeans.  Ignoring the exoskeleton, mind you.  Her head jerked up when she heard him call her name again.  “Huh?” 

                A frown greeted her, pursed lips showing his annoyance.  “Am I boring you?” 

                Sighing, Asha replaced the lid on the thermos and gazed out the window.  “Not really, but for fucks sake Logan.  Would it kill you to relax?  Ever since nothing panned out on the funding angle, you have been a crabby pain in my ass.”

                Logan was stunned at the resigned irritation lacing Asha’s voice.  She had never once showed this kind of emotional reaction, and he wasn’t sure how to take it.  He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by her climbing out of the car.

                “My contact is here, keep an eye out.”  She slammed the door and walked away, leaving Logan in her wake wondering what had just happened.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting an extra chapter today due to the delay, plus i love the scene at the end

*-*-*-*

Gillette, Wyoming  
September 27, 2020

 

                The door opened behind her, causing her to withhold a shudder.  Every time the door clanged, her skin would crawl and she knew it was never good what came through the entrance.   Especially not when it happened after lights out.

                Manticore was a trap, a black hole for hopes and dreams.  The noise of the door, the echo of everything about this place, this metal cell was like the sound a mouse hears when the trap is sprung.  Not that she was a mouse; but in this case, being a cat wasn’t much better.

                Spinning around, and schooling her features to the passive soldier mask they were all raised with, she regarded the open door. The lights came on, and the white-haired woman who stepped into the tiny room made her hackles raise.  Max barely contained the growl trying to escape from her chest.  Renfro.

                This example of the worst of humanity was easily the largest shard of anguish in her life.  The director of Manticore controlled everything about Max’s life, and had already proven she would send her back to the misery of Psy-Ops if she was angered.

                “Hello, 452.  Settling into your new room?”  A self-righteous smirk traced Renfro’s lips as she looked at the transgenic in front of her.  She glanced at the body language, seeking a reaction from the stone-cold look of the young solder in front of her.

                Max just gazed at the woman, allowing no emotion to seep into her dark orbs.  Renfro was a vampire, feeding on the pain of others.  If nothing else, Max would always deny her that.  It was petty, but it was also the only rebellion she could accomplish.

                “So, I would come up with some excuse of over-crowding… but I feel like being blunt.  You’re getting a roommate.”  Renfro ran her fingers along the cement walls, flicking the dusts off the tips.  “You are going to be confined to this cell until you conceive.  Call it your penance for burning down my buildings.”

                Max’s shoulders stiffened, and she nearly broke through her emotionless façade.  She would do nothing this woman wanted, even if she died in the process.  The shorter female smirked, an evil cast to her features telling Max she wouldn’t like what came next.  “And if your first partner doesn’t perform properly, I have plenty of other options.  Granted, most of them don’t like your kind.”

                She stalked out of the room, and snapped at the guards on her way out, “Bring him in.”  Unceremoniously, another transgenic was let into the room and the cell door was slammed behind him.

                Max was stunned as she took in the new person standing in her cell, absolute shock arcing through her as she whispered, “You…”

                The man in front of her crossed his arms, and she saw the random tapping on his elbow.  She quickly read the code in the rhythm [don’t react, they can’t know.  I will explain].  An eyebrow raised in her direction, asking silently if she understood.

                Max tapped her fingers against her thigh as she answered him [don’t react?! Tell me you’re joking].  He gave her a pointed look which came across as sarcastic, but she could see the worry lacing his gaze.  She gave a tiny sigh and tapped out a compliance code.

                He gave a tiny smirk and gave her a small hand signal that advised her to act normal and play along.  He dropped his arms to his side.

                “Ben?”  Max allowed the bewilderment she felt show.  He looked like her brother, identical… but **_that_** scent was slowly circling the room as the two gazed at each other.

                “What?” He had a mildly confused look.  Of all the things he was afraid she would say… that was not it.

                “You look like someone I used to know.”  A pang in her chest broke the staring contest the two had, freeing them from the strange paralysis.

                He moved further into the room.  “My designations 494.”  He made sure to face the back wall, away from the opening and tapped out a message [they’ll leave soon, and we can talk].

                “His was 493, you must be twinned.”

                “493...Your fellow traitor. Went psycho.”  He gave her a tiny apologetic look.

                Her ire rising, Max fired back, “What do you know about it?”

                He let his irritation show, “I know that because of him I had to spend six months in Psy-Ops. They wanted to make sure it wasn't genetic. Looks like ten years in the world finally got to him.”

                Max went to reply her temper flaring, when he held a hand up.  A guard peered through the door, gesturing to 494.  He walked over to the opening as Max snarkily stated “He's reading love poetry. You know, to get me in the mood.”

                Tapping out a message on his thigh, 494 shook his head slightly at her.  Max felt irritation as she read his code telling her to calm down.  He glanced at the guard when the human asked, “You got something for me?”

               He handed to guard the bundle from his pocket, and accepted the money back.  “Do me a favour, give these to Vic.  Tell him he can pay me later.”  He passed a few cigars over.  The guard grunted in reply and left.

              Waiting a moment to ensure there was no-one in earshot, 494 spun around and looked at her.  All of the masks dropped away as he took her in, inhaling slightly to pull her scent into his lungs.  “It will be an hour until they return to escort me to the barracks.”

              She tilted her head, taking in the change to his demeanor.  “Cameras?”

              He grimaced.  “They’ve turned them off since the creation of the ‘breeding program’.  Something about watching rape just doesn’t do it for them.”  He winced when he saw her flinch.  “I’m sorry.”

             She shook off the shock and raised an eyebrow at him.  “You are kind of a smart aleck, aren’t you?”

             He smirked at her.  “That’s not what we need to talk about.”  He sat on the bunk and gazed at her.  “Do you know what’s going on yet?”

             She slid down the wall across from him, breathing in slightly as she gazed at him.  She could see the lines of his arms, and remembered what they felt like under her finger tips.  There was tickle at the back of her brain, there was something she knew about what was going on.

             He watched as she looked him over, feeling the urge to flex just to see what reaction he would get.  A playful grin flirted with his lips, even as freaked out as he was about what was happening there was part of him which had been waiting for this.

            “I thought it was all a myth.  Manticore making this happen?”

            He shook his head.  “This is bigger than them.  And when they start to suspect something weird, we die.”

            She winced at the starkness of his sentence.  “So, they don’t…”

            “Know what’s happening?  Nope.”  He ran his hands over his face.  “Most of what we know is tribal knowledge.  Figured out from what seems to be genetic memory.  And not the human genetics.”

            She took in what he was saying, and unconsciously tapped out a message on her knee pleading for a moment.  He stayed silent as he watched her think.  His eyes traced over her face, fascination filling him as he learned her features in the light.

            Max could feel his gaze, but she was to busy digging into the base of her memories trying to find the knowledge.  Deep in the part of her that was more prone to hunting than logic, she started as she realized what was happening.

            He gave her a gentle smile, and moved over to kneel in front of her when he saw the memory kick in.  His hand gently settled on her knee, and she reach up to entwine their fingertips.  “Thought it was a story Ben made up for us.”

            Seeing his confusion, she gave him a sad smile.  “Ben would try to explain all the crappy things about our life.  He used to tell us about the Blue Lady, and that there was always someone out there for us.”  She stroked his fingers unconsciously.

            “452…”

            She smiled, “My name is Max.”

            A lightening to his features took her breath away as he smiled.  “Hi Max.”

            She answered his smile.  “You need a name.”

            He brought his other hand up to cradle hers as he ran his fingers over the soft skin of her wrist.  “Well I’m sure I’ve been called a few things…”

            She snorted.  “Okay Alec.”

            He chuckled.  “Smart Aleck?”  Reaching up to move a strand of hair behind her ear, he gasped at the static shock which ran up his arm.  “I can live with that.”

            Max gazed at him, taking in the green eyes and golden-brown hair.  He looked like Ben, but at the same time she knew irrevocably it wasn’t Ben.  The scent in the room, wafting around both of them proved that to her senses in a way which was set in stone.

            Reacting on pure animal instinct; she reached up and pulled the collar of his shirt down over his heart, and shifted her eyesight to the infra-red spectrum of her cat DNA and couldn’t contain her gasp at what she saw.  He looked at her worried, until she used her other hand to pull her shirt to the side.

            Over her heart, to the right of the giant scar was a blur he couldn’t quite see.  Seeing the reflective quality of her eyes, he shifted his vision and met her gazed startled.  He glanced at his own chest and abruptly sat down.  He pulled her to him, settling her thighs on either side of his lap and kissed her hungrily.

            She let a tiny mewl of sound escape as she kissed him back, almost purring at the taste pervading her senses.  A tiny voice in the back of her head started to say something, but something more powerful shoved it away in the wake of what she had seen.

           Over his heart, embedded in his skin, Alec had a shadowed barcode only visible to transgenic vision.  On his chest, as if waiting for her to see it… And she knew what was on her own chest.  Over her heart, she knew Alec saw his own barcode.  Just like she saw hers on his pectoral muscle.

           Within both transgenics, deep inside where only the primal part lived a word echoed.

           Mine.

 

*-*-*-*

Seattle, Washington  
September 27, 2020

 

               

                Original Cindy looked at the man standing in front of her.  Part of her wanted to feel pity, perhaps even offer him comfort considering everything which had happened.  Except there was a deep part of her brain that was convinced if he had just stayed out of it, she wouldn’t be missing her friend.

                Realizing she had completely missed what he was saying, she mentally shook herself and held up a hand.  “Now, Original Cindy isn’t sure she is catching your drift correctly.  How about you back it up and start over.”

                Logan sighed, and cocked an eyebrow at Cindy as she leaned against the doorframe of her apartment.  “I have a friend, Asha, who needs a place to crash, lay low.  I had thought since you don’t have a roommate…”

                Cindy glared at him and snapped, “Oh, I have a roomie.  She just ain’t here right now.”

                “You know what I mean…”

                “Oh, I do?!  Cause I thought you had given Max up for dead?”

                Logan flinched and turned away from her.  Without his permission, that night replayed in his head.  “I saw her body, Cindy.  Max was shot in the chest.  I felt her die in my arms.  What the hell am I supposed to think.”

                “Don’t much care whachu think, I have faith in my boo.  And she ain’t goin nowhere until she says goodbye.”  She crossed her arms over her chest.  “More to the point, this is Original Cindy’s home.  I don’t need any strangers all up in my business.”

                “Asha is completely discreet, she wouldn’t be in any of your business.”

                “Then why doesn’t she stay with you?”  Cindy turned away and slammed the door in Logan’s face.  Maybe it was what had happened, perhaps it was coincidence… but ever since her girl went missing, she had no patience for the paralyzed man.  She walked over to the window, and placed a hand on the glass.  “Please be okay, boo.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New players in the story join the narrative

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was suppose to be posted on Saturday but I was annoyed at homework and impatient. Plus I am sucker for OC

*-*-*-*

Gillette, Wyoming  
September 27, 2020

 

                Max felt the soft rumble coming from Alec’s chest as he cradled her against him.  The fervent kisses had given way to soft caresses as they both tried to absorb the enormity of what was happening.  Just because it had once been said didn’t mean it would actually be true.

                Yet, she couldn’t deny what she had seen.  Couldn’t fight the pull she had towards him.  Didn’t want to fight the feeling of belonging she had simply by having his arms around her, and hers enclosing him.

                Alex rubbed his cheek along the top of her hair, breathing in her natural scent and locking it into his memory.  It felt so right having her close to him.  It was if he had finally found that part he never knew was missing.  His fingers stroked down her arm, twisting around her hand and he smiled as she tangled their hands together.

                “I never thought I would…”

                “…have this?  Me neither.”

                A thud in the distance cause them to turn abruptly sit up, both feeling the urge to protest the separation.  As they settled with a meager foot between them, Max glanced at Alec.  The guard’s solid footsteps came to a halt as soon as they came near the door.

                Reverting to the hand signals they had been trained in since birth, Alec outlined his plan to Max.  Arching a delicate eyebrow, she gave him a dark look.  Immediately she began gesturing back in an angry fashion.

                Seeing the flash of temper in her eyes was a turn-on and more than Alec could take; he grasped her chin in his hand.  Forcefully pulling her forward, he laid a kiss on her lips like nothing either had ever felt before.  He devoured her, invading her, entangling her tongue. 

                Max was drowning in his taste, a desperate moan escaping nearly silent and she kissed him back.  Her hands sunk into his hair, teasing the strands as she opened her mouth deeper to his kiss.  He pulled away, a breath between them.  “I swear nothing will happen, just trust me.”

                She licked her lips, tracing his in the process.  His smothered growl made her pupils dilate and she pulled back.  Giving him a look promising death if this failed, she pulled her t-shirt off over her head.  Quickly getting his head back in the game, Alec did likewise and pulled the blanket from the bed.

                Flushing slightly, Max worked the sports bra off keeping her arm crossed in front of her breasts as she gazed at him.  There was a reverent look in his eyes as he gently pulled her closer, reclining onto the floor.  She laid down on top of him carefully, both hissing as their bare torsos came into contact.

                Burying her face in the crook of his shoulder, Max felt as he shook the blanket out covering their legs.  He strategically positioned it so that her upper shoulders were visible, as was much of his chest.  Once he was satisfied, he curled his arm up and hand around her shoulder insuring none of her curves were visible to the guards who stepped through the door.

                His other hand snaked beneath the blanket and stroked the small of her back soothingly as he cockily spoke to the humans.  “Your timing is ass.”

                The sergeant grunted, staring at the transgenics.  He let his eyes roam, hoping for a glimpse of skin.  Unbeknownst to him, Alec’s eyes shifted into a darker shade as the urge to draw blood welled up.  Only the delicate stroking along his hip-bone kept him in place, as Max tried to calm him when she felt his body tense into battle-mode.

                “Director wants you both in Medical.”  The second guard gave his companion a disgusted look as he caught him ogling the girl.  He gestured to the male, urging him to get up and come with.

                “No can do.”  Alec let a twisted note enter his tone.  “Renfro wants conception, so what do you think we’ve been doing in here.  Besides, you know animal DNA… things happen.  Can’t be moving yet.”  He held his breath for a moment, waiting to see if they would buy the excuse.

                One of the guards sighed, and stepped out to radio the control room.  After a moment, he stuck his head in.  “Director says to just leave them here tonight, she’ll handle it in the morning.”  The other guards left the room, leaving Max and Alec huddled under the blanket.

                As the door clanged shut, Max slid her hand up his torso and cradled his jaw.  “This is so unreal.”  Her face came to look at him.  Alec’s lips quirked, and he moved his hand from her shoulder to her hip.  “There’s part of me that is just convinced…”

                “This is right?”  He sighed, “I know the feeling.”

                She peered at him through her lashes.  “But then there’s part that…”

                He interrupted her, “That doesn’t trust it?  Yeah, I’m feeling that too.”  He reached over and snagged his t-shirt and helped her shrug into it.  As she raised her eyebrow in question, he smirked.  “This conversation kind of requires some element of decorum.”

                She snorted at his word choice and sat up.  Even though they had pulled away slightly, their knees still touched as the two transgenics gazed at each other.  “It doesn’t bother you that I have doubts?”

                He laughed gently.  “I’m going to assume you had a whole life out there before you ended up here.”  At her nod, he stroked the hair away from her face watching the strands circle around his fingers.  “Then yea, its normal to not know what the fuck to do with this.  Hell, I’m on Solo Missions all the time and half of them involve using charm and seduction techniques.  Think I was expecting this either?”

                She looked at him, seeing the slight tensing as he mentioned solo missions and realized he was meaning assassinations.  From all outward appearances, he had no issue with his role but something was telling her that was not the whole truth.  “I suppose not.”

                She looked down, and picked at the seam of her pants.  “Out there…I kind of have someone… I guess.”  She kept her gaze down, wondering how he would take the information.

                “Doesn’t surprise me.”

                At his slightly flippant response, her head flew up.  He gave her a twisted smile, “You are sorta hot, Max.”

                She felt a flush at his half-compliment.  His fingers pulled hers away from the stitching and wove them together.  “Kind of?” He asked her.

                “We just… never managed to get it right I suppose.”  She brought her knee up, and rested her chin on it.  Pulling her hand free gently, she wrapped her arms around her leg.  Her eyes closed and she felt a light touch on her forehead.

                He stroked down her temple, and then kissed the crown of her head gently.  “Tell me about it?”

                Max opened her eyes, looking at him.  “You want to hear about me and another guy?”

                “No.”  He gave her a small smile.  “But I want to hear about you.”

                Max felt her heart thud at the simple words, hearing the depth of sincerity and emotion clogging up the statement.  He meant it.  He wanted to know who she was, who she had been. Inasmuch as the scent and instincts were driving her towards this man, there was part of her trying to hold back. 

                In the face of such a basic and integral question, Max felt her doubts get shoved aside as she let her inner animal gaze at his face.  Alec’s hair rose on the back of his neck as he recognized the change in her.  What she was doing was dangerous, many transgenics had gotten lost in their primal side.

                Max let her cat-like gaze trail over his body, pulling his scent into her lungs.  Musk, man, cat… all coiled together in an irresistible aroma.  She’d never admit it out loud, but it always bothered her how one-dimensional Logan smelled to her heightened senses.

                Alec on the other hand… she could smell his stillness as he realized he was looking at a predator.  She could sense his cat at the edge of his awareness, ready to spring at a moments notice.  She could actually feel his arousal, muted though it was.  It had been a long time since she had tapped into the cat, and part of her was reveling in it.

                “I get the impression of the cat stretching its spine, flexing its paws just to watch the claws appear.”  Alec spoke in soft tone, careful not to trigger her more feral side.

                “Perhaps.”  She tilted her head to the side, the pupils of her eyes focusing on him directly.  Alec felt like an electrical current was running down his spine as he locked gazes with her.  “You can sense the other side of me.”

                “Completely.  Guessing you’ve never gone feral around another transgenic.”

                “Haven’t been around another transgenic in years before I burned down the genetics labs… at least not long enough to … what did you call it?”  Max moved her shoulders in a rolling motion, releasing pent-up tension.  Alec’s throat went dry at the sensuousness of the movement.

                “Going feral, its was those of us here call it when the animal hits the fore.” 

                Max had a gleam in her eye as she shifted her stance, and gracefully stood.  “Huh… I like it.”  She walked away from him, her hips swaying.  A tiny peek over her shoulder told Alec she knew exactly what she was doing.

                He groaned, scrubbing his hands over his face.  “You are going to be the death of me, aren’t you?”  He glared at her as she laughed softly.  She laid on the cot, curling on her side and beckoned to him. 

                He scooped up the blanket and joined her, the smallness of the bed causing them to connect from shoulder to knee.  Her voice was breathy as she wrapped an arm around him.  “We need sleep to deal with Renfro.  We’ll figure this bitch out tomorrow.”

                Nodding into her hair as he cradled her closer, Alec whispered, “Just don’t leave me.”

                Just as softly, she answered, “Never.”

*-*-*-*

Seattle, Washington

September 30, 2020

 

                Cindy hauled her sweater around her shoulders as she sleepily shuffled towards the door, where she heard the banging continuing.  Muttering imprecations, she pulled the door open and glared at her visitor.  “What?”

                Zack shoved his raised hand through his hair as he looked at the shorter human.  “Can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think I need your help.”

                Abruptly, Cindy was wide awake as she realized it was Zack… Max’s Zack at her door.  He was supposed to be dead or captured, no one was entirely sure which.  She opened the door wider and reached a hand out to drag him into the apartment.

                “What the hell is going on?!  It’s been months, Logan said Max was dead – they thought the same happened to you.”  She shoved past him and threw herself onto the couch and just stared at the tall transgenic.  “Tell me everything.”

**_\--- May 22, 2020 ---_ **

_Zack heard the monitor go flatline and felt as though the room was shrinking.  It was like a tunnel and he couldn’t help the panic that filled his entire body._

_He heard the cold voice of Renfro ask if there was any other damage, and then tell them to prep her for harvest.  Everything was a blur, and then he told them to take his heart._

**_\--- May 24, 2020 ---_ **

_He looked up when they came into his cell, glaring at the guards as they surrounded the blonde woman who was looking at him closely.  She had a twisted smile on her face as she gazed at him._

_“Self-sacrifice was never part of your design.”_

_“What are you talking about?”_

_“Trying to give your heart to your sister, 452.  We never designed the x5’s to care about each other so specifically.  So, what is it about your unit that defied all descriptions?”  She tapped her fingers against her chin, “I’m going to enjoy taking you apart.”_

**_\--- May 31, 2020 ---_ **

_Zack shook as the electricity surged through his shoulders, the rubber bit in his mouth keeping him from making a noise.  He breathed heavily through his nose, trying to focus on anything but the pain.  He felt the scalpel puncture his thigh and starbursts exploded across his vision._

**_\--- June 4, 2020 ---_ **

_The rustling got his attention first.  He couldn’t move, and not just because of the restraints.  The plaster cast on his left leg guaranteed he was not moving fast for any reason.  The bandages over his eyes were removed and he looked up._

_Standing over him were Krit, Syl, and… Lydecker.  Zack didn’t know if he should be thrilled or horrified.  The restraints were removed; and even though he tried to talk, he passed out as they lifted him._

\--- Cindy’s Apartment ---

                Zack twitched when he saw the sympathy on her face as he got done relating what had happened to him months ago.  “Most of it was a blur, until I could move again.  Syl kept me at rehab until the leg started working.  Krit handled supplies.”  He sat down on the couch next to Cindy, and put his head in his hands.  “The minute I could walk again, Krit and Syl took me to Lydecker.  He was the one who told me what happened.”

                She looked at him expectantly, and when he didn’t start speaking immediately, she slapped him on his arm.  “For the love of…. Tell me what happened to my boo!”

                Reflexively rubbing his arm, Zack sighed.  “She was dead, completely flatlined.  That’s what I knew.  Apparently, Deck had heard through the grapevine that this wasn’t completely true.  Turns out, Manticore can create bionic-grown replacements.”  Seeing her blank look, he explained.  “They can grow replacement organs, and basically bring people back from the dead with enough time.”

                Cindy got up and paced around the apartment for a moment.  “I knew she wasn’t gone.”  Chewing on her lip, she stared at the Ninja in her living room.  “She wouldn’t have left me like that.”

                Zack sighed, leaning back against the cushions.  “As much as that might be true, the problem is they are not at the Gillette site anymore.  We raided it yesterday and everything is cleared out.  If Max is alive, we don’t know where they have her.”

                “Is that the only place?”  Cindy looked at him closely, watching the shift of his features as he decided if he was going to lie to her.  A small thrum of pleasure raced through as she saw he was going to trust her. 

                “According to Deck there was a dark site up near Mount St Helen.”

                “On the volcano?!”

                “Yeah, no one would think to look there.  Trouble is, I need to get recon and we don’t have access to the satellites.”

                “This is where Original Cindy comes in.”  She grabbed her coat and started shoving her feet in shoes and saw him staring at her blankly.  She sighed.   “You can get the linky thing to work from the right computer?”

                He nodded blankly, wondering where the ordinary’s mind was going with this.

                “Good, cause I can distract Logan while you hack in and find our girl.”

                Zack huffed a laugh as he realized how perfect and simple Cindy’s plan was.  He had been thinking maybe raiding a military base, but this was so much better.  “I’m beginning to see why Max is attached to you.”

                She grinned.  “You know it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a tiny glimpse into the saga of Zack


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> doing two updates, this one a little shorter - the next a little longer

*-*-*-*

Unnamed Site

October 1, 2020

 

                Max couldn’t move.  She tried flexing anyway she could think of, and nothing would budge.  More than that, her limbs were not responding.  Someone had drugged her.  She opened her eyes and glanced around wildly.  Her gaze arrested on Alec, who was chained to an exam table, in an upright position across from her.

                His gaze hid barely concealed panic as he looked at her, and Max realized belatedly she was in one of the reclining med chairs.  Her fatigues and his t-shirt were missing, as she had on was a scrub gown.  She knew what was coming… and she dreaded it.

                Alec watched the thoughts crawl across her face and felt powerless.  He struggled again, but the shackles on his wrists had no give.

                “What happened?” Her voice was soft, but he could hear the hoarseness caused by fear.

                “They must have gassed us.  I don’t remember anything after laying down.”  His eyes flew over her, checking for injuries.  Seeing her eyes flit from side to side, he realized she was doing the same thing.  In a low tone, he asked her “Any obscure languages you know?”

                Max looked at him quizzically, and replied just as softly “Latin, that’s about it.”

                He huffed, “I have got to teach you Gaelic.”  He started muttering, and she glared at him as she caught some of what he said.

                “You wanna repeat that so I can smack you?”

                His head swung up in shock, “You heard me?!”

                “You were talking loud enough for me to, so yeah.”

                Alec looked at her stunned.  “Actually, I didn’t.  I barely even vocalized.”  His eyes narrowed and he gave her an assessing look.  “Close your eyes for me, leannan.”

                Sighing, she did as he asked.  Muttering so low she couldn’t even hear herself, “I don’t even know what that means.  He could be calling me bitch.”

                His voice drifted into her ears, so low it vibrated within her.  “It means sweetheart in Scots Gaelic.”

                Her eyes snapped open when she heard him start talking, and his lips were not even moving.  She tilted her head to the side and watched as he demonstrated again.  “It’s not telepathy, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

                She closed her eyes again and focused on what it felt like when he whispered at her.  Reaching out, she questioned “Why would you call me that?”

                He grinned and nodded to let her know it worked.  “Because you are mine.”

                Rolling her eyes, she felt a skitter of joy run through her at his smirk.  It blew her mind that even in the setting they were in, he could make her feel… complete.  As she went to say something, the door to the room swung open and Max felt her blood freeze.

                Renfro walked in, followed by one of the head geneticists.  She gave Max a fake smile as the doctor pulled on the nitrile gloves and moved a tray of instruments over.  “How are we feeling today?”

                Max just glared at the woman, refusing to answer.  Renfro let out a tinkling laugh.  “Oh, its fine if you want to be the strong silent type.  It’s been 4 days since I brought 494 to your cell.”  She laughed at the shock on the transgenics’ faces.

                “You see, we had to move my special project off-site.  So, you and the other subjects were sedated and transported.  Now we are just going to take a little look to find out if our procedure was effective.”

                Max felt terror quake through her as the doctor move the gown away from her knees, and her eyes flew to Alec.  His gaze had gone black with rage the closer the human got to her, and he growled low in his chest.

                Renfro turned to him and gave him a reptilian grin.  “Don’t worry so much, its barely painful.  Unless you get out of line, and then it will be very painful for her.”

                Max focused low in her throat and spoke for Alec’s ears alone.  “I can handle it.”

                His gaze snapped to hers, answering in the same manner.  “You don’t know that.”

                She glared at Renfro and gaze Alec a tiny glance.  “The more she thinks she is getting to us, the more she enjoys this.”  She switched to audible vocalizations, “What did you do to me?”

                Renfro walked over and ran a hand down Max’s arm.  Alec barely held the growl in when he heard Max’s silent snarl.  “Well you are aware that we need your offspring, and I am guessing you were not very accommodating in that cell.  So, we prepared your body for the next step, and added a little kick to get it started.”

                Before Max could say anything, the doctor inserted the speculum and ratcheted it to the required spacing with no regard to the patient’s discomfort.  All that showed on her face was a wince, but Alec heard the whimper that was dying to be set loose.

                He started to silently work on his bonds as he saw the probe being inserted.  Max’s face contorted in agony as the cold metal was thrust to where the doctor needed it.  Renfro was looking on with a benevolent expression and stroked the hair back from Max’s forehead.

                She bared her teeth in a snarl, unable to do more than that.  The blonde grinned at the powerlessness of her subjects and glanced at the male chained across the way.  The sheer anger and hatred in his gaze was delicious.

                Keeping his face blank, Alec tried reaching out to Max with the new connection they had.  “Breathe for me, leannan.”  He saw the glint of her eyes as she exhaled, and he felt the phantom feel of her hand in his.  Controlling the shock rippling through him, Alec gripped the ephemeral touch and imagined cupping her cheek in his hand.

                Their eyes met for an instant, and Max felt his caress.  When Renfro broke their line of sight, the touch was gone.  But it was enough for Max to disconnect from the procedure and not focus on the samples being taken from her.

                When Renfro moved to the table to check on the lab results, Max’s eyes collided with Alec’s and she felt as though he had enveloped her in his arms.  Both transgenics endured the remaining exam on Max, and there was a silent breath of relief when the doctor pulled away.

                Renfro handed the doctor a syringe, who injected it into Max’s neck.  The last thing she remembered was Alec thrashing as Renfro injected him as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Much will be explained, but right now it is deliberately vague


	6. Chapter 6

*-*-*-*

Unnamed Site

October 1, 2020

 

                Groggily, Alec shoved himself up from the hard surface he was laying on.  It was bitterly cold, an element of crispness he hadn’t felt since he was last sent for Arctic training.  Settling onto his knees, he waited for his eyes to adjust to the complete darkness.

                Eventually, other forms started moving around him and he could hear the breathing change as the transgenics with him started waking up.  Hearing a shuffle nearby, he muttered “Designations by the numbers.”

                “511.” A hand hit Alec’s shoulder and he sighed in relief as he recognized his second in command. 

                “657.”

                “418.”

                “767.”

                “206.”

                “384.”

                Alec counted off the numbers and tilted his head as he listened to the room closely.  There was one heartbeat which was running much slower than the others, and when compared to the listed designations… One of them was not awake yet.

                “One of us is still down, anyone have a neighbor not moving.”

                “Over here, 494.”  He recognized 384’s voice, and he carefully rose and walked over her.  She had her hand on the shoulder of another female, and his sense of smell told him exactly who it was.  “Not sure who, my eyes haven’t adjusted yet.”

                He breathed, “452…”  Kneeling, he laid a hand on her hip and swept her hair off to the side with his other hand.  “Max, can you hear me?”  His soft voice barely carried past them, but the other transgenics reacted when they realized an o’Niner was with them.

                His head swung up and he growled, a primal and angry sound in the dark room.  The others quickly straightened and moved away from him, recognizing an Alpha in defensive mode.  “I don’t care what any of your thoughts are; you try to harm her and I will kill you.”

                511 blinked as he realized his life-long friend and CO was completely serious.  Something had to have happened in the last couple of weeks for 494 to have changed.  Especially when he changes to the point of threatening his unit.  “It doesn’t mean anything, 494.  We all just woke up.”  He tried to soothe the other male.

                Letting the growling rumble taper off as he felt the other transgenics trying to be less threatening, Alec gathered Max into his arms and cradled her against his chest.  His last memories were of the lab and what she went through while he was powerless.  He’d be damned if he let her feel that pain again.

                His voice roughened, he spoke to his second in command, “Anyone found an exit?”

                657 answered from the far corner.  “I have a door near me, and it appears unlocked.  Shall we recon?”

                Alec stood, shifting Max into a tighter hold.  “Everyone as a unit.  Let’s see where Manticore shoved us now.”

*-*-*-*

Seattle, Washington

October 1, 2020

 

                Cindy pulled her bag from her locker, glancing at Sketchy over her shoulder.  “Not tonight, I have a thing.”

                Sketchy slumped against the bank of lockers and gave her a pleading look.  “Come on, OC… you haven’t been to Crash all week.  It’s like you have a new shorty or something.”

                She tossed a smack towards the taller man, who grinned as he dodged her slap.  “No, you fool, Original Cindy has plans.  That have nothing to do with you.”

                She walked past him, and heard the ring of the cellphone in her bag.  Digging around, she saw the letter Z showing on her caller ID.  Glancing around, she ducked around the alcove near the door.  “Find anything?”

                “Worse than anything…”  Zack’s voice was heavy with exhaustion and if she wasn’t mistaken, sadness. 

                “Our girl?”

                “No, someone decided to cauterize the site.”

                Cindy closed her eyes as she realized what he was saying.  “How bad?”

                “Well anyone who got out has scattered to the winds.  But from what we can see from the wreckage, some were trapped inside when it blew.”  He huffed.  “Max was there.  We found DNA evidence, and a few files.”

                Feeling like her heart was going to burst, she closed her eyes and tried to calm herself.  “Is she…”

                Zack sighed, “We don’t think so.  Deck is going over the files, but it seems like there was a deployment of a ghost unit to an unnamed site day before yesterday.  From what he can decipher so far, we think she was included.”

                “Well, that’s something.”

                “Yeah.  I need to ask a favour.”

                She grinned, “Yeah, you can crash at my place.  Just don’t move nothing.  You got the twosome of cuteness?”

                She could almost hear his smirk over the phone.  “I’m not even gonna ask how you knew what I needed.  Yea, Krit and Syl are with me.  We’ll meet you there later.”

                “You have no idea of Original Cindy’s powers, boy.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was wrong.... it was TWO short chapters then the long one

*-*-*-*

Unnamed Site

October 1, 2020

 

                The snow crunching beneath their feet was the first clue as to where Manticore had dropped the eight of them.  Alec glanced at 511, and they shared a look.  “Wonder which site this time?” the brunette male muttered under his breath.

                Feeling a shiver from the girl in his arms, Alec sighed.  “Doesn’t matter.  We need shelter, better gear, and a chance to regroup.”  He glanced at the others, all clothed in fatigue pants and t-shirts.  He counted himself lucky they all had combat boots on.

                “If this is the Usibelli site, there should be a shelter depot about 3 clicks from the drop site.” 657 remarked as she walked up the small slope in front of them so she could view the night sky.  “From the star pattern, we are definitely in Alaska.”

                “Crap.  So, it’s just going to get colder.” 206 muttered as he joined her.  “The sites about 5 miles off from Healy, right?”

                511 tilted his head, trying to remember the dynamics of the training field.  “About that, yeah.  Roughly 1600 feet above sea level, and in one of the mountain ranges in this part of the state.”

                Alec grunted, “Fantastic.  Let’s find that depot and get some shelter.”

                511 looked at him, watching as he cradled the o’Niner with care.  “494… “He paused as Alec looked at him.  “What about her?”     

                Alec’s eyebrow arched, as his eyes hardened.  “Meaning?”

                “Well… “511 glanced at the other transgenics, and knew it was his job to ask the question they all had.  The scents surrounding the two of them were muddled, which didn’t make any sense.  That and 494’s protective stance over a traitor was utterly bizarre.  “She’s not one of us.  Why are we taking her with?”

                “You never leave your unit behind!”  The statement was a snarl from Alec, as he glared at the other six transgenics.

                “She’s not our unit.” 767’s statement was spoken softly, as she tried to not to antagonize the larger male.

                Feeling a sense of rage fill him, Alec inhaled harshly through his nose.  Tensing his muscles, ready to reply; he almost missed Max’s motion.

                Her hand raised and cradled his jaw, as a soft purr escaped her to echo along his chest.  His turmoil and anger had roused her from the effects of the drugs, and she reached out needing to soothe him.

                Immediately, his gaze snapped to her.  His unit’s expressions registered shock as well as confusion when his growl dissipated and tenderness exuded from his entire body.  Crouching carefully, keeping her from the snow, Alec adjusted his grip so she could elevate slightly.

                Max sensed the other transgenics around them, and she even noticed the frigid air.  But none of this mattered as she felt the rage and pain echoing through Alec’s body.  Shifting in his arms, she turned more directly to him and raised her other hand to his face.  Framing his features, she pulled him down for a kiss.

                Alec almost moaned at the feel of her lips on his.  A rumbling purr escaped his chest, shocking the other transgenics.  Raising a hand from beneath her knees, Alec cupped the back of her neck and deepened the kiss.  Thrusting his tongue to meet hers, they tangled and caressed; blocking out everything except the feel of each other.

                Alec gently pulled away, moving his hand to stroke the hair from her face.  “Maxie…” he whispered as he kissed her forehead.  Pulling her closer, he buried his face in her neck as she did the same.  Both pulling comfort and reassurance from the other, they held tight.  Unbeknownst to the couple, a scent arose blanketing and absorbing their singular ones.

                511 shook his head, trying to figure out what the hell this meant.  In less than five minutes, his commanding officer had lost his own natural scent signature.  Now, he was a meld… with someone 511 had no knowledge of.  Growling softly, he stared at the pair.

                The rumbling from his second in command caused Alec’s head to swing up, a dark dangerous look in his eyes.  Max turned her head to look at the other male, stroking softly down Alec’s chest as she soothed him. “Ask him why he’s growling before you lash out.”  Her soft voice was laced with a command as she spoke to the male surrounding her.

                Sparing her a quick glance, Alec snorted before returning his gaze to 511.  “Fine.  Wanna explain that?”

                511 swallowed as he looked at the decidedly pissed off alpha male across from him.  “Your scent… it’s not you anymore.”

                With a huff of exasperation Alec asked, “What the hell are you talking about?”

                “You smell like her.  But she smells like you.  But it’s not different scents.” 511’s bewilderment was obvious as he tried to explain.  That more than anything allowed Alec to relax, as he realized the defensive stance of his SIC was non-threatening.

                Sighing, he laid his forehead against Max’s and thought for a moment.  How much did he want to reveal?  Her finger stroked along his jaw line, causing him to look into her eyes.  “You know I can stand, right?”

                “I like you where you are, leannan.”  He gave her a tiny grin as he pulled her closer.

                Smothering a chuckle, she flicked his ear.  “Yeah, well… I think I need to.”  Sighing, he helped her straighten her legs and then stood; pulling her upright with him.  Half turning, Max pressed her back to his chest needing the support and protection his larger body offered.  She glanced over the other transgenics and went rigid with shock.

                Alec’s grip tightened as he felt her body tense, and a hint of pain laced with fear exuded from her.  He swung his gaze around the tiny copse they all stood trying to find out what had upset her.  Seeing nothing, he dipped his head down over her shoulder and nuzzled her neck.

                Max felt him trying to comfort her, and she could sense his confusion.  Mentally shaking herself, she looked at the other transgenics again.  Really looking this time, and not letting the base appearance of 2 of them throw her off completely.

                “I’m guessing you and Ben weren’t the only twinned ones?”

                Hearing her quiet question, Alec gazed as his unit realizing what happened.  “No, there are more of us.  Who?”

                Knowing he was asking which of her unit she saw, she swallowed and replied.  “Tinga X5-656, and Zane X5-205.”

                The two transgenics who so resembled her siblings recognized the designations as being a digit off from theirs, and stepped closer to the couple.  A gimlet gaze lurking in their CO’s eyes had them raising their hands to show they meant no harm.  “What does she mean, 494?”

                Max huffed.  “I’m right here.” She muttered and almost felt the tiny smile Alec tried to smother.  His arms wrapped securely around her middle, keeping her pressed against him.  Both of them seemed to need the tactile connection, and he was more than willing to provide it.

                “Max… 452, her unit was twinned with ours.”

                Snorting, Max interjected.  “Not that we knew this.  And they were my siblings.  My family.”  She paused.  “I haven’t seen Zane except in photos since we were kids, and Tinga…   Tinga is dead.”

                Alec felt the pain bleeding from her at the statement, and noticed 206 giving her a compassionate look.  When the other male glanced at him, a question in his eyes; Alec cocked his eyebrow at him.  206 smiled gently, “So, basically meeting us is as freaky for you as it is for us?”

                Max felt a tiny jolt of pain and joy as she realized this man was so similar to her gentle, sweetheart of an older brother.  She gave him a tiny smile, and answered him, “Yeah, just a bit.  Don’t suppose you guys ever got to the name stage?”

                Seeing the blank looks, she sighed.  Alec chuckled as he cradled her closer.  “No, we still those good old designations.  Not exactly the cool kids, are we?”

                Huffing, Max tried to smack him but he caught her hand and laced their fingers.  “Damn it, Alec.”  Irritation filled her voice as she turned her head to glance at him.  A voice interrupted her before she could say anything.

                “Alec?”

                Both Alec and Max looked at 511, who was standing off a few paces with a blank expression on his face.  Recognizing the Manticore mask, Alec replied in an easy tone, “That’s my name.  Courtesy of Max.”

                A slight mutter, “Coulda been Dick,” made him and the others snicker.  She blushed slightly as she realized she had been heard.

                “None of us have names.”  The statement was flat.

                “Doesn’t mean we can’t change that,” A new voice broke in, and Max looked up as a blonde moved closer to the group.  “In fact, call me CeCe.”  She extended a hand to Max, who shook it.  “Designation X5-384.”

                657 smiled, and tossed an arm over CeCe’s shoulder, “Call me Jewel.  X5-657 at your service.”  She nudged 206 until he gave her a twisted grin. “You know you wanna…”

                He chuckled, “X5-206, Liam sounds good to me.”

                Alec smiled as he watched his unit loosen up a bit as they started rattling off names.  From the sound of it, they had been thinking about it for a while if the three suggestions were anything to go from.  He glanced at the rest of the squad.  “767, 418, wanna join?”

                Max’s jaw dropped as she realized the two other transgenics were the grown-up twins of Eva and Jack.  Her brother and sister never got a chance, but it seemed as though she would get to see what they could have been.

                The shorter brunette female smirked, “I liked the name from my last mission.  Just call me Naya if we’re seriously going this route.  X5-767.”  She nudged the male next to her, “I liked your name from that mission too.”

                He glanced down at her and gave her a soft grin.  “I don’t care either way.”

                Naya smiled and looked at Max.  “He’s X5-418, but I think he should be Marco now.  And I know what you mean about siblings.  He’s like my big brother, won’t let me have any fun.”

                The look Marco threw her was decidedly sour, and reproving all at once.  The entire group turned to look at the last transgenic, 511.  He held up his hands in surrender, giving a small smile.  “I’m no good at this game, someone else pick.”

                “Biggs.  Cause you’re a big pain in my ass.”  CeCe’s voice snapped out and made the others chuckle.

                Alec nodded, “Biggs it is.”

                A sharp, biting wind cause the humour dissipate as the unit realized they were still in the middle of nowhere.  The light in the sky was fading fast, and if the crispness was any indication it was about to get much colder.

                Alec tossed a look to Biggs and directed him with gestures to take point with CeCe.  The rest of the unit broke off into staggered fashion as they moved towards where the depot should be.  Max stayed close to Alec, as she not very steady on her feet.

                She kept a hand on Alec’s belt, her fingers curled under the shirt keeping a skin contact which was comforting to both.  She shivered, and tried to steel herself against the climate.  He threw a glance back at her, seeing the strain on her face.  Something was still wrong, she hadn’t woken at the same time as the rest of them.

                Grasping her hand, he pulled forward until he could sling an arm around her waist.  As soon as he had a grip, he swung her up into his arms never pausing his forward movement.  Max didn’t object, instead she buried her face into his chest but not before he caught the blue tint to her lips.

                Clearing his throat, “Biggs, eta?”  He gave a small smirk at the strangeness of using names with his unit.  The other male tossed him a glance and then blurred over to a tree, scaling to the top to get a vantage view.

                “If we haul ass, 15-20 minutes.”  He jumped down, landing next to the unit and pointed in the direction they needed to go.  “But there’s some clouds off to the south that have me worried.”

                Alec inhaled sharply.  Bad weather is the last thing they needed.  “How’s everyone feelin?”  He glanced at the others, seeing the strain and exhaustion showing.  Whatever the drug was they were injected with was having a highly detrimental effect.

                CeCe sighed, “You want to blur to the depot?”

                Tossing her long hair over her shoulder, Jewel frowned.  “Its our best move, but its going to be close.  I hurt.”

                Knowing how unusual it was for one of them to admit weakness, Alec was even more worried than before.  He glanced down and swore, realizing Max had passed out again.  “We have to.”

                The other transgenics nodded, and as one turned and blurred.  Following Biggs, they all pushed themselves to reach shelter as soon as possible.  The wind behind them took on a howling tone, a smell of snow in the air.

                Naya raised her hand, signaling she saw the depot.  Immediately the others took up flanking positions as Alec ducked behind a pine tree.  Freeing a hand, he gestured to Liam and CeCe to take point and Naya to keep watch.  Biggs, Jewel, and Marco circled around the back.  All of them keeping a sharp eye, checking if the depot was intact and secured.

                A whistle echoed out, and Alec left the shelter of the tree.  Using his last strength, he blurred into the building as CeCe slammed shut the steel door.  Sealed inside the bunker, the heat started to raise.

                Gently laying Max on one of the unoccupied cots, he slumped down on floor next to her.  His vision was fading at the edges, and he started seeing black spots.  Before passing out, he ordered Biggs, “Lockdown.”


	8. Chapter 8

*-*-*-*

Seattle, Washington

October 2, 2020

               

                Cindy sighed as she stalked over to the front door.  If whoever it was didn’t stop trying to knock down her door, she was going to straight up knock them into next year.  Its not like the damn thing could take that much abuse.  She stepped over the prone form of Krit, who was curled up asleep at the base of the couch.

                Syl and Zack were out getting groceries, but the younger male had been injured.  Cindy had offered to keep an eye on him while he slept off the painkillers.  She was expecting the other two back any time now, but they knew better than to knock.

                Swinging the door open, she was confronted with Logan’s angry look and an apologetic one from the blond standing with him.  “What in the actual hell do you want?”  She glared back at the taller man, refusing to give an inch.

                “Why can’t you ever answer the phone?  I have news about Max and you won’t pick up?”  Logan shoved past her into the apartment and placed his hands on his hips.  “I thought she was “your boo” and you’d stop at nothing to get her back.”

                Cindy spun in place, “Get your raggedy ass out of my damn house!”

                “Not until you talk to me!”

                The blond gave him a dark look.  “Logan, I highly doubt pissing off one of Max’s friends is going to help Eyes Only.”  She gave Cindy a small smile.  “I am so sorry, we just got news and he wanted to make sure you knew.”

                Cindy stared at her.  “And who be you?”

                Extending a hand, “I’m Asha, I help out Eyes Only from time to time.”

                “Original Cindy.”  She ignored the hand and stared at Logan.  “You wanna start over?”  She sat on the arm of the sofa and waited him out.

                Giving her a slightly sheepish look, Logan sighed.  “One of the informant net resources had a sighting of Max’s siblings.  More than one.  We are trying to run it down for where they are staying, but you know if there are several transgenics in town they will know where to find Max.”

                “Actually, we don’t and not for lack of trying.”  A tired voice interrupted his speech as Krit pulled himself up onto the couch near Cindy.  “What did Zack hit me with?”  He leaned his forehead on her thigh and groaned.

                Cindy chuckled and ran her fingers through his tousled dark hair which was so like Max’s.  “Syl got you with morphine while Zack dug that bullet out.”  She grinned at his muttered ‘traitor’ comment he made with his eyes closed.

                “Why’d they leave me on the floor?  No offense but it sucks.”

                “If I were a bettin woman, you went and pissed off Syl.  You know how she feels about you, cutie-boo.” Moving some of the hair to side, she poked the semi-circle the crease of his shoulder.

                He grunted and raised his head to regard the other humans in the room.  “What the hell are they doing here?”

                Logan was in the middle of spluttering as he realized one of Max’s brothers was here, and apparently staying with Cindy.  Not just one of the siblings, but the one that looked exactly like her.

                Clearing his throat, “Cindy didn’t answer the phone, and we had heard of transgenic sightings.”

                “Well considering I was bleeding all over the floor earlier… not surprised she didn’t answer.”  Krit cocked his head to the side as he looked at the ordinary.  “Well now you know some of use are here, what do you want?”

                “Some of us?”

                Krit regarded the blonde.  He thought she had introduced herself as Asha, but he didn’t much care.  “Yeah.  You take our baby sister and you are definitely going to have to deal with the whole damn pack of us.”

                Logan swallowed.  “You mean more of you are coming?”

                Krit grinned, “Zack called everyone in.  With the site being cauterized, we need to find Max.  Who knows what the hell they are doing to her.  Especially after losing Brin, Tinga, and Ben.  We want our family back.  Got a problem with that?”  His look challenged Logan to say something.

                Before the hacker could reply, the door swung open and revealed a pissed off Zack being held back by Syl.  The was a growl emanating from the taller transgenic, and Krit found himself blurring over.  He questioned Syl with his eyes as he braced his hand against the door jam.  “What the hell happened?!”

                Syl glanced at his side to make sure blood wasn’t seeping from the bandage.  He quirked an eyebrow, and she let a tiny smile slip over the corner of her mouth.  “We were talking to one of Zack’s contacts in the city, and we got an interesting piece of news.”  She shouldered her way passed Zack and drug him into the apartment.

                Their big brother was bristling, and his muscles were bunching as his fists clenched.  Krit swung the door shut as Syl shoved the larger X5 towards the couch.  Cindy walked up and rested a hand on his sternum.  “What happened?  Talk to me.”

                Feeling some of his temper clear as he gazed at the dark-skinned woman, he replied.  “We found out the reason why Manticore cauterized the site.”  Gently moving behind Cindy, Zack threw himself down on the couch.  His eyes were burning as he stared at Logan.

                “It was you.  Something you had, something you were going to broadcast.  Apparently, you had enough to be a threat, so they burned the place to the fucking ground with transgenics still inside.”

                Logan felt himself take a step back involuntarily as the words seemed to slap against his chest.  “What are you talking about?”

                Krit felt more than heard the growl coming from Syl as she stood in the kitchen behind him.  Reaching out a hand, he grasped her fingers and brought her to stand behind him.  Syl moved her arms around his waist and buried her face between his shoulder blades.

                Seeing the reactions of his siblings caused Zack to lose some of his ire.  Those two… where one went, so did the other.  Even more so, when one was upset to other had to respond.  Knowing that the human’s survival was hinging on what happened next gave him the last push to calm down.

                Meeting Cindy’s eyes, he nodded and grasped her hand gently to let her know he was okay.  She gave him a small smile before moving aside and sitting on the arm of the sofa.  She then gestured to Asha, offering her a seat.

                “You made a broadcast about Manticore didn’t you?”

                There was no way to avoid the bluntness in Zack’s question, and Logan nodded.  “It streamed already.”  He glanced at the transgenics and swallowed.  “What did you mean by cauterized?”

                “It’s Manticore’s way of dealing with security breaches.  Burn everything to the ground and start up in another site.  They don’t care about loss of product, they keep all the data backed up.”

                Logan felt his stomach turn as he realized product referred to the transgenics, just like the people standing in the room with him.  He shared a glance with Asha, and spoke softly “Do you know how many were lost?”

                “No.”  The finality in Syl’s word caused Krit to flinch, knowing that this would plague both of them.  They all knew this was SOP for Manticore, but it never made it easier to handle.  He glanced at Zack and saw the need for revenge lurking in his CO’s eyes.  He nodded once so his brother knew that where he led, they would be.

                “I didn’t know… “Logan trailed off as he remembered a broken conversation with Max when she tried to explain that he didn’t really understand what Manticore was.  It seems she was right, he didn’t know.

                Before the transgenics could say anything, Asha spoke up, “So, I don’t actually know that much about what Manticore really is or does – but I know this about the government.  Get to close to their secrets and they are not afraid to kill.  You know this, Logan.  Maybe we should tell Eyes Only to back off?”

                Cindy controlled the urge to roll her eyes, realizing the woman didn’t even know about Logan’s alter-ego.  Not her secret to tell, however… “Look, you wanna wallow in your mistakes – cool.  Get out of my house.  Cutie-boo over there needs a new bandage, I think you bled all over my floor enough.  And I need dinner, so who’s cooking?”

                Before they knew what happened, Logan and Asha found themselves staring at the closed door hearing the lock click. 


	9. Chapter 9

*-*-*-*

Unnamed Site

October 3, 2020

 

      Biggs woke with a start, and glanced around wildly trying to get his bearings.  Recognizing the concrete walls of the bunker, he sat up and took a deep breath.  Passing out was never a comfortable occurrence, even less so when the entire unit was down to.

      Rising to his feet, he looked over the other cots in the narrow room.  Cece and Jewel were curled up side-by-side, hands still gripped together.  It looked like they had been trying to assist each other when whatever it was affected them.  Marco and Liam were sprawled nearby, but it looked like Naya was starting to wake.

      He waited for her eyes to open, and then reached a hand out to her shoulder.  She blinked and then sat up.  “What was that?”

Biggs shrugged.  “Who knows when it comes to Renfro.  You know how she likes screwing with our systems.”  Once she seemed stable, he pulled his hand back and sighed.  “I just know it took us all out, and fast.”

      Naya nodded running a hand through her hair.  “Did you notice how the oNiner seemed harder hit than the rest of us?”  She smirked, “Wonder if they are weaker cause of all their time spent outside.”

      Biggs snickered silently.  “Would not surprise me.”

      A dry and irritated tone interrupted them.  “Personally, I think it had more to do with a heart transplant, three months in Psy-Ops, and some weird medical procedure.  But hey… lets blame something that happened when I was 9.”

      Startled, the two transgenics looked at the shadowed corner in the back.  They could just barely make out the form of the female, 452, as she was leaning against the wall.  With a start, Biggs realized she was no longer on the cot.  Instead she was seated on the floor with Alec’s torso supported against her.

      Her dark eyes glared across the room at him, waiting for him to respond.  After a few seconds, she sighed.  “My name is Max, don’t even think about calling me 452.”

      Biggs swallowed, realizing she could read his expression in the low light.  “You have a problem with your designation?”  Naya’s question took him by surprise.

      A snort, “Considering the last person who took such joy in repeating that to me to remind me I am nothing but an animal…”  There was so much resentment and pain in her voice, both Naya and Biggs felt themselves flinch involuntarily.

      A shift caught their attention as Alec began to thrash, his hands scraping along the concrete floor.  Max swore softly, and began to stroke along his shoulders.  One hand slipped beneath his shirt, the skin on skin contact causing his movements to slow down.

      Biggs could hear her whispering to him, her head crouched low over his.  Slowly, Alec began to settle nuzzling his face into Max’s abdomen.  She sighed and laid a gentle kiss on the top of his head, her hands still moving in soothing motions over his skin.

      Once her head raised again, Biggs softly asked. “What was that about?”

      Max gave a small smile.  “Apparently we really don’t like when each other is upset about anything.  It’s not something either of us really understand at the moment.”  She glanced down at the form sprawled over her body, her smile gentling as she watched Alec.

      “So that’s what happened on the hike in?  You heard him getting angry?”

       Max glanced at Naya, “Less heard more felt.  It was like this electric current running through my body.  Pulling me to him, all I could focus on was him.”  She sighed.  “I just…”

      “Leannan.”  The soft rumble from her lap arrested Max’s attention, and she completely forgot the other two transgenics.  Her eyes met Alec’s green ones as he tilted his head to gaze at her.  Max’s face softened as she looked at him, tracing his features and checking for any signs of pain.  He reached up and pulled one of her hands free.

      Kissing the palm, he intertwined their hands and tucked them under his chin.  Alec’s eyes closed for a moment as a wave of pain rippled through his muscles.  Max’s free hand stroked through his hair, and she asked softly, “Are you okay?”

      “Whatever they gave us does not want us mobile for too long.”  He sighed and started to try to lift up out of her lap.  “Are you still feeling the effects?”  He braced himself against the cot and shifted his weight to the side.  His body was still pressed firmly to hers, but he was supporting his own weight.

      “I think they gave me something else.  It was still freezing when I came out of it, so I am guessing I woke up right after we got here.”  She looked around, “Where ever here is anyway.”  Alec’s arm came up behind her, pulling her into his chest their joined hands settling into his lap.

      After inhaling for a moment, he glanced around and saw that Biggs and Naya were watching them.  Questioning looks on both of their faces made Alec groan internally, and he sighed quietly.  Max laid her head on his collarbone, brushing her lips gently on his throat.

      Alec met Biggs gaze head on and waited for his second in command to say something.  Biggs was not very good at withholding when he was upset with Alec.  After a few moments, Biggs snarled slightly and glared at him.

      “What the fuck is going on, 494?!”  Biggs exploded, rising to his feet.  “First is the stupid breeding program, then you keep disappearing for weeks on end, and now all of a sudden you are wrapped around a damn traitor.”

      Max freed her hand, and used it to hold Alec down next to her.  At the start of Biggs’ tirade, he had tensed, but by the end he was pushing to get up fists clenched.  Swinging a leg over his, she anchored him by sitting in his lap.  Bringing both hands up, she cradled his jaw until Alec looked at her.

      “You need to breathe, Alec.  Getting pissed after getting jacked up on whatever the hell they injected us with…. That’s just dumb.  Breathe, Alec!”  His eyes finally met hers, and she could see the pain mixed with rage roiling in his gaze.  Leaning her forehead against his, she breathed gently across his face.  Almost against his will, Alec felt his body sync to hers and his breathing slowed down.

      Once she was convinced Alec was not going to pass out, she tossed a dark look over her shoulder at the other transgenics.  She dimly realized the others were beginning to wake up.  Lifting the corner of her lip in a silent snarl, she regarded Biggs.  “You really are a moron, aren’t you?  You didn’t listen to a damn thing I said…”

      Before she could finish, he burst out, “As if I would listen to a rat like you.  And get your hands off him, there’s no telling what a disgusting whore like you came back with…”  Before he could finish, Biggs was slammed into the wall.

      His vision blurring from the hit, he tried the focus and found himself unable to move.  He was thrown down onto the cot, with one arm bent behind his back.  The worrying part was the hand wrapped around his throat.  He could feel the press of nails on either side of his trachea and a growling sound behind him warned him not to move.

      A quiet voice caught his attention, “Max…”  Stunned, Biggs realized it wasn’t Alec who had him pinned.  It was the smaller female with the grip on his neck.  He hadn’t even seen her move, let alone realize she could take him down.

      Rustling from the corner made him try to look, and he felt the nails bite into the skin.  A strangled groan escaped him causing the growl to get louder.  He felt more than saw Alec come closer.  He swallowed with difficulty.

      Alec carefully sat on the edge of the cot, feeling the stiffness in his muscles.  He glanced down at Biggs, who thankfully was not trying to move.  Max’s face was a picture of primal rage, a snarl causing her canines to gleam in the low light.  Her eyes flickered to his, and he took a breath at the anger and pain swirling in the chocolate depths.

      “I need you to let him go.”  He kept his eyes on hers, green clashing with brown.  Her eyebrow quirked at him, and he clearly read the sarcastic question.  “Yes, I am serious.  I am even aware he’s being stupid.  But I kind of need him in one piece.”

      “Kind of?!”  Biggs’ protest came out as a wheeze, sounding strangled.  Max’s fingers tightened involuntarily as her head swung up.  Alec turned in the same direction and noticed the rest of his squad trying to maneuver around behind Max.

      He muttered a swear word and extended a hand to place it on the one Max had wrapped around Biggs’ throat.  “If you idiots do not stop moving, I’m going to have to get very upset.”  A quiet snort from Biggs made Max snicker slightly.  The rest of the team froze, recognizing the thread of command in Alec’s voice.

      “Everything is fine, nothing to see here… Right, Max?  Wanna go ahead and let the dummy go?” He met her gaze, the worry he was feeling glittering in his eyes.  She watched him for a second, and then released Biggs’ neck and intertwined her fingers with Alec’s.  Using the grip as leverage, she rose from her crouched position and moved over to stand in front of him.

      Her hands swept over his face, soothing away the lines of worry and easing the anxiety.  No sounds came out, but Alec could hear her speaking to him.  “I need you to be okay.  You are everything.” A tiny smile graced his lips as he raised a hand to her hip.  Answering her the same way, he replied.  “You are **my** everything.”

      The transgenics watched as their CO shared a moment before rising to stand with some difficulty.  Before anyone else could do anything, Max slid beneath his arm and helped him remain upright.  Max looked at their faces and grunted in annoyance.  She was never going to get anything accomplished with the mistrustful brigade over here.

      Glancing at Alec, she saw the same realization setting in.  She sighed, he had to be taking this harder than her.  Based on her estimation, there had been 3 major dustups in under 24 hours with her at the root of it.  This did not foster unit cohesion.

      Something Alec had said tickled at the back of her brain, that the transgenics had some sort of tribal knowledge regarding the bizzaro-ness going on with her and Alec.  Maybe she could use that.

      “All of y’all can view infra-red, right?” Cautious nods answered her questions and she squared her shoulders before inhaling.  This wasn’t what she wanted to do, but she needed to get them all to back off.

      Alec looked at her sharply, hearing her question.  Before he could do anything, she stepped away from him gently and brought both hands to her hips.  Realizing what she was about to do, he tried to blurt out a command.  But it was too late, the shirt skimmed up her torso and hung limply from one hand. 

      The medical staff had not gotten around to redressing either of them properly, and Max stood topless in front of the other transgenics.  She pointed to the left side of her chest while trying not to cringe, “Shift your vision, you assholes.”

      Alec lunged forward, a growl rippling up through his chest and exploding from his throat.  His arms crossed over her torso, blocking parts of her from view.  He glared at his squad, feeling fury boiling through his blood.

      Max struggled for second before realizing it was pointless.  She pressed back into his embrace, “Let them see the mark, Alec.”  Her head rested against his chest as he minutely shifted his arms to show the hidden barcode.

      Stubbornly though, his arms covered her breasts and most of the gigantic scar on her chest.  Inwardly, Max scoffed at the part of herself swooning at his act.  She wasn’t sure it if was him trying to protect her modesty, or just being territorial – but she would have to admit she kind of liked it.

     Biggs' eyes had almost bugged out of his head as he stared at Max once the shirt came off, and he winced when CeCe slapped him.  Belatedly, he averted his eyes, but they snapped back at Max’s comment and then Alec’s movement.

      He shifted spectrums to look at her again and swore under his breath.  Making a movement with his hand, he told the rest of the team to do the same.  The female transgenic, the 0Niner woman, had their Commanding Officer’s barcode showing on her chest.

     “Well, fuck.  This complicates things.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So two papers, and tons of homework. Updates might slow down, but I am hoping not. Thanks for reading


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cindy searches for more clarity about her new roommates

*-*-*-*

Seattle, Washington

October 3, 2020

 

                Turning off the tap, Zack put the glass into the drainer and then wiped down the counter.  After the ordinaries had left last night, they had made dinner and then passed out.  He glanced over as he heard footsteps, and a smile rose over his face unnoticed as he watched Cindy.  The quirky human had gotten to him, and he could honestly say he understood Max’s attachment. 

                Seeing his wince as she came into the kitchen, Cindy asked quietly, “Thinking about Max again?”

                He sighed and leaned his hip against the counter.  “Yeah.  I just feel like we should have heard something.”

                She ran a hand down his arm and glanced to where Krit and Syl were curled around each other.  “Grab the coffee and come with me.” She pulled fresh mugs out and led him to the fire escape.  Clambering out, she started up the steps to the roof level fully expecting Zack to follow.

                Snorting in amusement at her assumption, Zack shook his head as he did just that.  Once they reached the roof, he saw the hidden chairs.  “Come up here a lot?”

                “Original Cindy needs to think, and sometimes needs the heights to get above all that,” She waved her hand at the rundown and broken buildings below them.  “Might’ve gotten that habit from my boo.”

                He poured her a cup, glancing at the woman.  “You know all these different sides of her, and yet you still treat her like family.”

                An eyebrow raised, Cindy looked to see if he was mocking her.  Instead she saw genuine curiosity.  “My girl doesn’t care about what makes Original Cindy original, she just loves me for me.  Most pure love I’ve ever had.  Don’t find that often these days, being made in a lab or not.”

                She sipped her coffee, watching as the soldier in front of her mulled over her words.  It amused her sometimes.  Max never showed the soldier easily, never let the lethalness be the first of her.  It was an aspect, and Cindy had seen it.  But, Max… she blended.

                Zack was painfully obviously a military man, rigid and stern.  Over the last few weeks, Cindy began to see the hidden parts – including the scared little boy who just wanted his family.  It was that aspect that reminded her of Max so painfully.

                “Can I ask you something?”

                Zack looked at her in surprise.  She never really asked, just kind of blazed in.  “…Sure…”

                “What the hell is goin on with Krit and Syl, and don’t give me no shit.  I know they don’t see each other sibling-like, but you three are all brother/sistery – which is weird.  Cool but weird.  But the marks, the purring…. Don’t forget I lived with one of y’all for a long time.”

                Zack chuckled as he sorted through her statement.  “This is gonna take a bit.  But I figured you’ve earned a few secrets.”  He shot her a taunting smile, and she slapped his arm.  “Even when we were kids, those two gravitated towards each other.  Not like the rest of us.  But like…. In this instinctive way, they always connected.  Krit is Max’s genetic sibling, did she ever tell you that?”

                Cindy shook her head, sipping the coffee and waiting expectantly.

                Zack smiled.  “There’s some argument how closely their genetics are.  Different surrogates, but Lydecker says they are only a couple hours apart in age.  Max is the elder, technically.  Krit just got bigger faster, and she was always so tiny…  Basically, those two are the babies of the family.”

                A tiny shiver rocked through Cindy as she looked at the sadness playing in his eyes.  Whatever he was remembering now was worse than the normal Manticore memories.  She waited as the shadows chased themselves across his face and smiled gently when he glanced at her again.

                “Max mention Eva and Jack?”

                “A little.  Not too much, we never really got into the broad conversation of all of you.”  She settled back and cradled the cup in her hands.  “I get the feeling Max don’t know most of the details with this whole transgenic thing.”

                Rubbing a hand over his face to clear away the bad memories, Zack snorted.  “Yeah, that’s mostly my fault.  I knew we had a better chance of getting more of us out separated.  So we were in pairs, Jondy with Max.”  He sipped his coffee, glancing at the horizon.  “All I know is Max slipped beneath the ice and Jondy had to leave.”

                Cindy raised an eyebrow, giving him a very firm idea of what she thought of that action.  He huffed and continued, “We were soldiers, one falls – you keep going.  It wasn’t until we got out here and realized we had choices.  But Maxie was always different.  She always cared…”

                “Yeah, that’s how Logan got my boo.”

                He glanced at her, raising his own eyebrow back at her.  Cindy smiled gently, “She talks as if it was an inevitability, but Original Cindy sees it as a guilt trip which started their whole thing.”

                Zack rolled his eyes, and sighed.  “Max wouldn’t have needed that much of a guilt trip to do ‘the right thing’, and as much as it drives me insane, I love that about her.”  He stood, moving to the edge of the building.  “We are mixed DNA creations.”

                Cindy laughed, “Yeah, I kinda got that.”

                Sending her a quelling look, he turned back to the view of the rundown skyscrapers.  “They took whatever animal traits they wanted in their super soldiers and never once considered the implications.  What makes that trait so pivotal, what feeds it? “He let out a deep growl, “They never even considered what they were messing when they unlocked the human genome, let alone the animals inside us.”

                Cindy felt a tiny smile as she took in this new side of Zack, as he began to explain the basic science in the blending of the transgenics.  There was a tiny bit of professor in the soldier, and she valued that he was sharing it with her.  She tilted her head as he paused, waiting for him to continue.

                “We don’t even know when it started, just that older units started developing some worrying habits.  Fraternization was never allowed, but you could always tell that certain types of pairing were happening.”

                “I’m guessing that went over well.”

                “Both transgenics were terminated.  Unit leaders were punished for allowing it to happen, minds were wiped.  There wasn’t supposed to be any loyalty to anything except Manticore.  It was part of the reason I wanted to run, I wasn’t just afraid for Maxie and her seizures.”

                Cindy say up as she realized what he was saying, “Krit and Syl.”

                He gave her a tiny smile, “Yeah, Zane was the one who put it together.  We just knew we had to get them all out.  But it wasn’t until we got out that we started to understand.”

                “Understand?”

                “You know the barcode is woven into out DNA, and always comes back?” At her nod, he continued, “Krit called me in a panic, he had seen a new barcode on Syl.  I met up with the two of them, and not only did she have a second – so did he.”

                “New barcode?”

                “A second one.  And not of the back of the neck.” He sat back down, extending his legs.  “Instead, these two have a secondary barcode over their chests; right about here.”  He tapped over his heart.  “That freaked us out a good bit.  I eventually found a scientist who was … willing… to explain.”

                Cindy held up a hand, “I don’t need to know anything about the willing part.”

                A predatory grin lit up his face, and he moved on.  “The guy explained what they had witnessed.  Changes to behaviors, bio-rhythms, and alterations at the genetic level.  Luckily, they never connected the dots to the scent markers or the barcodes. That would have really clued them in.”

                Tilting her head to the side, Cindy waited for him to continue.  Zack’s face had closed up, and there was a haunted cast to his features.  Sometimes she just wanted to find out who ever started this mess and hit them… probably with a shovel. 

                After a moment, Zack sighed.  “I got my first clue when we were hiding in the mountains, we came across a wolf pack which had been in the area for a while.  It was pretty entertaining since most of us had feline DNA.  Syl was kind of an oddball, and we found that her wolf DNA came in pretty handy.”

                Cindy smiled, considering the tiny blond in the apartment below them.  She could definitely see Max and Krit’s catlike qualities and there were times she could totally see a lion standing in place of Zack.  But Syl had always been a little different, the way she was quiet.  Cindy smiled, realizing that was the wolf side coming out.  “Let me guess, she also tracks better then all’o’y’all.”

                Zack chuckled, “And she never lets me forget it.  Anyway, the pack tolerated us as long as Syl was there.  But I noticed something weird on how they acted around Krit.  While I was supply run, I stopped in at one of the abandoned libraries.  Near as I can tell, the pack was treating them like a mated pair.”  He paused, leaning forward on his knees, “That put together with the science from the doctor started to make a lot more sense.”

                Tilting her head, Cindy waved at hand at him.  “Maybe to you.”

                “Certain animals mate for life.  For the most part, humans tend to be monogamous.  At least from all appearances.  Apparently, when you throw that all into a cocktail…”

                She froze as what he was saying became wildly obvious.  “Krit and Syl are mates?”

                “Yeah, and from what we can tell if you meet before puberty it is just a low key connection.  Kind of a drive to be near each other.  Once the hormones kick in, that’s when things get messy.”

                “Is it all hormones and biology, like how Max gets heats?”

                “From what Krit has told me, no.  Syl completely disagrees with being a guinea pig, so she won’t say anything.  Krit on the other hand is worried if we don’t figure this out.  He thinks Manticore could figure out how to use this against us.”

                A voice from the ladder got their attention, “You know I’m right about that.”  Krit heaved himself up on to the roof and smiled at Cindy.  “This causes a wild card to their system, and if we don’t understand it – it **will** be turned into a weapon.”

                She sidled over on the chair, and he wandered over to join her.  Krit was hands-down the most cuddly transgenic she had ever met, but Cindy chalked it up to always having his siblings.  For a cat, he could be very pack-like.

                “But no, its just not animal magnetism.  Like the attraction is there, but its still a choice.”  Seeing the confused look on Zack’s face, he grinned unrepentantly.  “If we hadn’t already been us,” he moved his hand around, encompassing himself, “it never would have gone so far.”

                “How do you know?” 

                “Not sure, but I do.”

                Zack nodded, gazing at the horizon.  There was so much that didn’t make sense about who they were and what it all meant.  Most of the time he didn’t even care, but there was something about what was going on that had him scared.  He needed to know what this was, he **had** to protect his unit.

                “And the biting thing?  Cause I have totally seen both marks.”

                Krit started to laugh.  “That came out of nowhere.  We were in the middle of a mission, and you know how I can get a girl to react to me…  Well later, once we were back in base… well Syl got a little heated and little territorial.  She just sinks her teeth into me at … an opportune moment, and starts growling how I am hers.  I completely lose it, and return the favour.  Several fireworks later, there’s blood and this bone-deep feeling that I’m not alone anymore.”

                He chuckled at the looks on their faces.  Cindy’s was a mix between humour and fascination, and Zack’s was pure big brother disgust when he put it together what had happened.

                “Those bites came from when you were having sex?!”

                A chuckle exploded out of Cindy at the horrified outrage in Zack’s voice.  “You do know these two are not just cuddling when they go off together?”

                “Doesn’t mean I wanna think about it.”  He stood up in a huff and walked over to the edge of the building.  His hands were shoved in his pockets and he glanced back at them.  “We need to find Max and the others.”

                Krit nodded as he got up from the chair.  Extending a hand, he helped Cindy up.  She smiled and gathered the cups as Zack got the brewer pot.  “Does Max know any of this?”

                “Other then possible shaky memories, probably not.”

                “Hmm,… she’s gonna be pissed.”


	11. Chapter 11

*-*-*-*

Unnamed Site

October 5, 2020

 

                It had been two days since Max had to bare her assets to the rest of the unit.  She inwardly snorted as she realized Liam still couldn’t look her in the eyes, a flush creeping up his neck.  Two days since she had been topless and showing the hidden barcode on her chest. 

                Two days since Alec had talked to her.

                Every time she tried to speak with him, there was something he needed to do.  Supplies, recon, hell even sleep was used a reason on why he was walking away.  It was frankly pissing her off.

                And if she was being honest, it was making her feel like there was a razor blade being drug along her nerves the longer he was gone.  The sensations were driving her mental and making her already short fuse more inclined to explode when the others spoke to her.

                Max had been confined to the bunker, because the compound in her blood was taking longer to dissipate.  It annoyed the hell out her that the others could smell the wrongness.  It was bad enough she knew she was out of sorts, but it was bloody weird to be around others who could tell as well.

                Today, however, the weird scent was gone.  Now it was just her…. And well the mixture with Alec.  But even that was getting weaker.  She could still detect a hint of it, but it was nowhere near as strong.

                Another reason to be pissed off at him.  Max didn’t want to look at her feelings too closely, because she was certain the other transgenic had a stronger effect on her than he knew.  Didn’t mean she was going to forgive him for being an ass.

                She pulled the thicker top over her head, pulling the sleeves down and fastening the strips close around her wrists.  A quick zip at the collar and it was sealed and formed over her body.  The winter gear had been found at an outlying depot, and Max had gathered a set in her size.  Pulling the hood up so it hugged her skull, she made sure the gloves were secured.

                As she was walking towards the outer door, she felt another transgenic come up.  Glancing to the side, she saw it was Jewel.  A tiny pang shot through her at the features so close to Tinga, but she shoved it aside to raise an eyebrow.

                “I need out of here, and Alec will be pissed if we don’t leave in pairs.”

                Max huffed, “Like I care.”

                A smirk crawled across the other girl’s face.  “True, but this way he has no real reason to object, and that will just piss him off more.”

                Max mulled it over and tossed a grin to Jewel.  “Sounds like fun.  I’m going for a run, wanna show me around?”

                Jewel returned the grin, shoving open the door.  “Let’s jet.”

                Before any of the others could say a word, the two blurred off into the tree line.  Jewel was the fastest in the unit, but they were coming to learn that Max was no slouch.  There was no way to catch them, and CeCe shared a look with Naya.  Alec was going to go through the roof when he got back.

                Marco smirked, leaning against the wall.  “Serves him right.  I’m going to enjoy this.”

~@~@~@~

                Alec moved another hand upwards and grasped the rock overhead.  Flexing his spine, he arced until his torso swung away from the rock face.  As his came swinging back towards the stone, he used his legs to shove away from the wall.  With the force of the movement, he was able to flip up to the next level and glanced back at Biggs.

                The other transgenic just grimaced at him and continued climbing up the rock face.  In as much as he was a soldier and physical exertion is the norm, his CO’s obsession with climbing things when there are perfectly good paths nearby annoyed him to no end.  He pulled himself up next to Alec and took in the view from the small crest they were on.

                They had left the bunker before dawn, hiking up Healy Creek and taking the offshoot of Cripple Creek.  Biggs had looked at the abandoned mine in slight curiosity, but Alec had not been interested in looking around.  Instead they had picked up speed until they reached the foothills of the mountains directing south of the bunker.  If Biggs were to wager, he’d say they were near Dora Peak but there was no telling with how Alec was pushing their movements today.

                He squatted down, dropping his pack in the snow and resting his legs while watching Alec out of the corner of his eye.  He could read the tension in the other transgenic like someone might read a page of a book, and what he was reading made him nervous.

                Alec was restless, twitchy, and almost seemed to be waiting for something to happen.  None of this was normal, to the extent that the others would joke at how still Alec would be made it seem like he fell asleep.  Biggs wondered how much of it had to do with Max.

                Alec glanced at him, and sighed, reading the look on his second’s face.  “What?”

                Biggs gave him an innocent look which got him a glare in return.  “Making the joke at the expense of your DNA, but I keep looking for the rocking chairs.”  Snickering at his CO’s blank look, “A long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.”

                “You know, I never got that one.  No matter how many times they made me take Common Verbal Usage.”

                Laughing, Biggs sprawled out in the snow and gazed at the horizon.  “Anyway, what the hell is bugging you?”

                Sighing, Alec kicked the snow drift in front of him and glanced at Biggs.  “I don’t know what to do about Max.”

                “Do?” he wiggled his eyebrows.

                Rolling his eyes, Alec kicked snow in Biggs’ direction.  “Not in the terms of copulation, you ass.”  He turned and crouched down.  “But that’s what Renfro wanted, and she did something to the both of us before we were dropped with the rest of unit.”

                Suddenly Biggs understood the distance Alec had been striving for and the conflict he could sense in his friend.  “You’re afraid that if you give into whatever this is with Max, then Renfro would get what she wants, and none of us know what that is.”

                “Yeah, and past experiences have taught me that Renfro getting what she wants is bad for all of us.”

                “So just avoid her until it passes.”

                “What do you think I’ve been doing?” Alec frowned at him, and then glanced up as he heard a bird call.  “I’ve tried everything I can think of, its like there are ants under my skin.”  The bird call came again and got both transgenics attention.  Alec’s awareness snapped in high alert, “Who’s on perimeter watch?”

                Biggs scrambled to his feet, spinning to face the direction of the creek and their base, “Liam.  Bird call is only used in the event of an incursion.”

                “Shit!”  Alec started running down the slope, heading to the direction of his unit mate.  An incursion this far north could mean anything from Manticore tests or a hostile force.  Either was not a good thing.  Biggs was on his heels as the two began to blur back to the path.

                A second alert, this time sounding like an owl got their attention.  “That’s Marco, calling everyone back to base.”

                Alec tossed him a look as they jumped over a crevasse in unison.  “Who else is out except us?”

                Biggs reached behind Alec and pulled the radio free from his pack.  “Break silence?”

                Nodding, Alec knelt and braced himself.  Biggs charged at him, and Alec launched him into the air.  Once he landed on the other side of peak, Biggs opened the channel for base, “Sitrep.”

                Marco’s voice crackled across the line, “206 detecting hostiles five clicks out.  Unknown origin.”

                “494 and 511 inbound.”

                “Understood, still awaiting return of 657 and 452.”  Biggs froze as he repeated the statement to himself.  Hearing the snow crunch behind him, he turned to see Alec clambering up the crust to stand next to him. 

                “Repeat that last.” Alec’s eyes flashed as he stared at Biggs. 

                “Repeat, 657 and 452 have not returned.”  Marco’s voice only wavered a little as he had also heard the steel in his CO’s voice.

                Alec’s teeth clenched and he gestured to Biggs to hand him the radio.  “Do they have comms?”

                “Negative, sir.”

                Alec swore sharply, “Last update?”

                “Hour ago, when they hit the northern patrol mark as per protocol.”

                Looking at Biggs, Alec muted the channel.  “I’m going after them.  Jewel knows the alert codes and when to respond.”

                Biggs nodded, “I’m going with you, travel in pairs remember?”

                Reopening the comm line, Alec barked out his orders, “418, 511 and 494 to rendezvous and return.  Hold base and secure until further notice.”

                “Copy that, hold and secure.”  The line went dead, and Biggs turned off the volume and tucked it back into Alec’s pack.  Looking at his friend, he smirked, “Time to go hunting.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the delay! School and new job have gotten my schedule a little wonky. Thank you for reading!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A slight check in with Seattle

*-*-*-*

Seattle, Washington

October 5, 2020

 

                Logan opened the message and scanned through the contents.  Looks like even more military activity than normal in the northern areas.  Nothing overly of a concern, but ever since he had seen the looks on Max’s siblings faces; he had been trying to find anything to help.  Not only for them, however, he also just wanted to find her.

                A noise behind him caused his attention to waver, and he sent a small smile to Asha as she placed her backpack on the other desk.  “Find anything?”  The blond shook her head at his question and drug a chair over to sit next to him.

                “Not so much, but there’s a caravan heading into Canada next week.  I’m going see if I can pass a message along to our operatives.”  She leaned on her elbow and let her gaze cast over his face.  “Get much sleep.”

                Giving her a sheepish smile, Logan shook his head.  “Not really.  I just keep hearing what Syl and Zack said.”  He shoved a hand through his shaggy hair, absently thinking he needed a haircut soon.

                “That wasn’t your fault, though.” 

                “In way it is.  I knew more about what Manticore was capable than most people.  I just never thought they would kill their own soldiers.”

                “From what I can tell from them, they aren’t viewed as much more than tools.  And are just as disposable.  No matter what you and I might think.”  Asha stood and walked to the kitchen, pulling her coat off and tossing it onto the couch.  “Water?”

                “Yeah.”  Logan turned back to the screen and began marking sites on the map in front of him.  It didn’t make any sense to be tracking helicopters in Yukon Territory.  There wasn’t much up there, especially not since the Pulse.  He glanced up at the message and started running his fingers along trying to highlight a possible destination.

                “Probably want to check Alaska.”

                Logan jumped, dropping his pen as he spun in the chair to see Krit behind him.  Blinking in surprise, he noticed the transgenic had Asha in a hold with her mouth covered.  Well, that counted out back up.  He raised an eyebrow at Max’s brother, and sighed.

                Krit grinned and pulled the handgun from Asha’s waist and released her.  “No offense, but I’ve been shot recently and Syl gets really disgruntled when I come home covered in blood.”

                Asha raised her hands and shook her head before moving to sit next to Logan again.  The two humans shared a glance as the young man settled on the edge of the desk.  “But yeah, if you’ve got activity in YT, I’d totally recommend Alaska as a possible destination.”

                Logan tilted his head and glanced at the map again.  “You sure?”

                Krit nodded, running his fingers over the gun absently.  “They used to talk about hidden bases in the Arctic that had never shut down ‘cause no one knew about them.”  He glanced at Logan, “Got a transponder for the helos?”

                “They seem to show as Russian, but it makes no sense to be in Canada.”

                “Unless they are old transponders, and someone doesn’t want tracked.”  He stood and walked closer.  “This about Max?”

                Logan swiveled around and nodded.  “I had a contact send me the flight paths of anything being tracked since the broadcast.  If there’s a chance something came near Manticore, I thought it might be a decent lead to follow.”

                “Not bad.  I actually had a similar thought.”  He tapped the map, hovering over the Alaskan border.  “There’s a spot in here which is ridiculously hard to hit with radar,” seeing the looks from Logan and Asha, he grinned, “Don’t ask.  Anyway, if someone wanted to make an incursion, that would be a good place to base camp.”

                Logan made an X on the map and traced a line from the last registered contact on the helicopters.  Provided they had enough fuel, there’s a chance that’s where they were headed.  “That actually helps.”

                “Good, then help me.”  Krit waited until the human looked at him and gave a small smile.  “Cindy told me about the revved-up soldiers Max came up against.  Where they from?”

                “The Reds?  South Africa mostly, but some of their recruits came from … Russia…”  His glance met Krit’s and he started to swear.  “They had the same idea we did.”

                “And if Cindy is correct, they’d love to get their hands on a transgenic?”  Krit tilted his head, looking so like Max that Logan felt a pang in his chest.  “Right… I guess I’m on it.”  Before Logan could say anything back, Krit had blurred from the room and there was the distant sound of the door slamming.

                Asha looked at him.  “What the hell just happened?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the extreme delay, but I hope to be posting more often <3


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